[shaolin95]

hi!
So I have been looking for a closed headphone to use at work instead of my TDK IE800 or my not so good Sens HD212Pro (lose fit makes bass wimpy).
I went to Best Buy and the only thing I could see that got my interested was this MDR-X10 since originally it was priced at $300 and is down to $99 now. I figured why not give it a try.
So no break in time yet (for the believers) but I have been testing with my Xperia Z Ultra (i swear I am no Sony fanboy as I hate all playstations lol), and the FiiO E6.
The problem is not having anything is similar to compare to, is hard to judge them. I can say I like the meaty, fuller sound I am hearing but I am using the EQ in the FiiO and phone to balance the sound.
I dont think this were ever very popular here, specially at the original price, but what do you guys feel about them at $99 specially compared to the others I have been thinking about?
I am about to but the JVC RX700 so I can compare both but just looking for more experienced options from forum members.

I listen to a lot of styles of music, Michael Jackson, TV soundtracks, game music some times, a lot of latin stuff, LOTS of classical specially piano sonatas etc, 80s music etc. No dub step (i said music! lol) or metal, nor gangster rap (that I use for gym and boxing workouts !).
So what please share your opinion.
 
The other stuff there was the usual bose, sol republic, skull candy, etc...lame that you can find really good stuff in those stores :/

 

[wphantom]

  hi!
So I have been looking for a closed headphone to use at work instead of my TDK IE800 or my not so good Sens HD212Pro (lose fit makes bass wimpy).
I went to Best Buy and the only thing I could see that got my interested was this MDR-X10 since originally it was priced at $300 and is down to $99 now. I figured why not give it a try.
So no break in time yet (for the believers) but I have been testing with my Xperia Z Ultra (i swear I am no Sony fanboy as I hate all playstations lol), and the FiiO E6.
The problem is not having anything is similar to compare to, is hard to judge them. I can say I like the meaty, fuller sound I am hearing but I am using the EQ in the FiiO and phone to balance the sound.
I dont think this were ever very popular here, specially at the original price, but what do you guys feel about them at $99 specially compared to the others I have been thinking about?
I am about to but the JVC RX700 so I can compare both but just looking for more experienced options from forum members.

I listen to a lot of styles of music, Michael Jackson, TV soundtracks, game music some times, a lot of latin stuff, LOTS of classical specially piano sonatas etc, 80s music etc. No dub step (i said music! lol) or metal, nor gangster rap (that I use for gym and boxing workouts !).
So what please share your opinion.
 
The other stuff there was the usual bose, sol republic, skull candy, etc...lame that you can find really good stuff in those stores :/

 
that headphone is really horrible, the x10, it sounds muffled and congested, please, PLEASE, if you need a headphone always look for a neutral-ish headphone, with little coloration if you want, for that price a pair of sennheiser 449s would be 10 times better, its not neutral but it is better than that garbage you got, shure 440 are neutral and obliterate any headphone on that price range (99), or audiotechnicas a500x maybe.
 
And you are killing your sound quality with that fiio amp, it is only needed if you have hard to drive headphones, but all the headphones you said are mobile friendly low impedance high sensitivity cans, Im sure it will sound just as good if not better without the amp.
 
Remember:
 
1.sony x10=garbage=beats
 
2.You dont need that amp
 
3.You should get a REAL hifi headphone, shure srh-440, audiotechnica a500x or sennheiser 449
 
I got the shures, really nice balanced and airy sound, but not portable friendly, and a little light on bass, the audiotechnicas are warmer acording to some people but they are huge and not really portable, your best option are the senns

 

[shaolin95]

The reason I use the FiiO is because the phone is lacking in output...everything sounds dull and lack dynamics. Adding the small amp makes it come alive. I am getting the E11 as well to compared this week.

The thing I hate about many headphones is the lack of bass thus my quest for a "bassy" headphone but I dont like killing clarity either so maybe I am looking for a holy grail with a sadly small budget?
Reading some reviews about the shure srh-440 they seem to have nice bass but as usual some people will claim that it lacks bass so its always that, whos right? question.
BTW, one thing I like about the Sony is that unlike my lame Sens 212, if I push the drivers against my ears, I do not get more bass so the fit is just perfect.
Is the shure srh-440 a tight fit type of headphone too?

I do not mind portability since they will go from home to my work and thats it..I do not plan to take them when just hanging around so at least that is not a requirement.
I will read more about the ones you suggested.
 
 
 
PS so far the ATH-A500X are really getting my attention!

 

[wphantom]

  The reason I use the FiiO is because the phone is lacking in output...everything sounds dull and lack dynamics. Adding the small amp makes it come alive. I am getting the E11 as well to compared this week.

The thing I hate about many headphones is the lack of bass thus my quest for a "bassy" headphone but I dont like killing clarity either so maybe I am looking for a holy grail with a sadly small budget?
Reading some reviews about the shure srh-440 they seem to have nice bass but as usual some people will claim that it lacks bass so its always that, whos right? question.
BTW, one thing I like about the Sony is that unlike my lame Sens 212, if I push the drivers against my ears, I do not get more bass so the fit is just perfect.
Is the shure srh-440 a tight fit type of headphone too?

I do not mind portability since they will go from home to my work and thats it..I do not plan to take them when just hanging around so at least that is not a requirement.
I will read more about the ones you suggested.

 
Shures are nearly perfect for the price, comfort, isolation and sound, but i think you would not like them, because they dont have that thump, yeah you can hear the bass clearly, but you cant feel the rumble, these cans are optimized for studio so they are very neutral and detailed.
I think you should look for more information on the audiotechnicas a500x (the closed ones, NOT the aD500x), they are very similar to the shures but i have read that they posses more bass quantity.

 

[shaolin95]

Yes indeed the ATH-A500X is really grabbing my interested based on all that I am reading about it.
Big drivers than can deliver the bass yet not an unbalanced mess. I mean, like testing the X10 and going back to the Sens 212, of course the sound on the X10 is fuller and a lot more engaging due to the bass but is like everything else is behind a veil and that is even playing with the FiiO and built equalizers in the phone to try to balance the sound a bit more. So , aside from the tight seal and bass, its hard for me to enjoy the rest of the performance but I got it more as a comparison headphone to my next really attempt at getting one which looks to be the ATH-A500X right now.
Then i can test side by side.

 

[Saoshyant]

I don't mean to be rude, but the suggestion of always going for a neutral headphone isn't for everyone. The sound signature of a headphone is very much a matter of taste. I've used the E6 for some portable listening and have enjoyed the experience thoroughly. Yes, it is an inexpensive amp that is by no means perfect, but I'd say for its cost I find it to be lovely, and have appreciated it's bass boost feature on some music.

The main bit of advice I can offer is remember that the purpose of all this is for enjoyment, at least for many it is. As far as Best Buy goes, you could see if one in your area has a Magnolia in it, some of them offer higher quality headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum.

 

[wphantom]

I don't mean to be rude, but the suggestion of always going for a neutral headphone isn't for everyone. The sound signature of a headphone is very much a matter of taste. I've used the E6 for some portable listening and have enjoyed the experience thoroughly. Yes, it is an inexpensive amp that is by no means perfect, but I'd say for its cost I find it to be lovely, and have appreciated it's bass boost feature on some music.

The main bit of advice I can offer is remember that the purpose of all this is for enjoyment, at least for many it is. As far as Best Buy goes, you could see if one in your area has a Magnolia in it, some of them offer higher quality headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum.

I dont mean you should go for totally neutral headphones, what i want to say is that you should avoid anything that is too extreme, too bright or too bassy, audiotechnica ad700 for example are garbage headphones because they are overly sibilant, bright, harsh and have no bass whatsoever, and beats or sony x10 are garbage too because they exagerate the bass and kill the rest of the sound. You should look for something that covers all the spectrum and tries to be a little balanced, an all arrounder, like the sennheiser 449 or the audiotechnica a500x

 

[shaolin95]

Any experience with the ATH-T400 ? I am looking for best place to get the a500x in the USA but noticed that ATH-T400 so just thought I would ask about it.
Yeah, I agree, I wouldnt be able to live with the mids and highs of the x10. :/

 

[wphantom]

  Yes indeed the ATH-A500X is really grabbing my interested based on all that I am reading about it.
Big drivers than can deliver the bass yet not an unbalanced mess. I mean, like testing the X10 and going back to the Sens 212, of course the sound on the X10 is fuller and a lot more engaging due to the bass but is like everything else is behind a veil and that is even playing with the FiiO and built equalizers in the phone to try to balance the sound a bit more. So , aside from the tight seal and bass, its hard for me to enjoy the rest of the performance but I got it more as a comparison headphone to my next really attempt at getting one which looks to be the ATH-A500X right now.
Then i can test side by side.

 
Yeah Ive been reading about the A500Xs, they are what you are looking for, warm an full, but balanced, and at 98usd on amazon its a bargain. You should try the shure 440 though, they dont have that full warm sound, bet they are not cold either, they are prefectly balanced with rich mids, and they sound open and airy, in a pleasant way, and the bass, is not a heavy bass, is more like detailed and acurate. The sennheiser 449 are nice too, they are not as good as the shures or the audiotechnicas but they are way better than the 212.
 
I think you have a little of placebo afect with that fiio amp, if you look at the specs it barely surpases the phone's integrated amp, the only thing it is doing is adding more distortion by double amplifiyng the signal.

 

[wphantom]

  Any experience with the ATH-T400 ? I am looking for best place to get the a500x in the USA but noticed that ATH-T400 so just thought I would ask about it.
Yeah, I agree, I wouldnt be able to live with the mids and highs of the x10. :/

 
I dont think t400 are good enough, they might be nice but the a500x look way better, dont go that low on price if you want something enjoiable
 
http://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-A500X-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B005TCZITW/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1390195677&sr=1-1&keywords=audio+technica+a500x

 

[shaolin95]

I don't mean to be rude, but the suggestion of always going for a neutral headphone isn't for everyone. The sound signature of a headphone is very much a matter of taste. I've used the E6 for some portable listening and have enjoyed the experience thoroughly. Yes, it is an inexpensive amp that is by no means perfect, but I'd say for its cost I find it to be lovely, and have appreciated it's bass boost feature on some music.

The main bit of advice I can offer is remember that the purpose of all this is for enjoyment, at least for many it is. As far as Best Buy goes, you could see if one in your area has a Magnolia in it, some of them offer higher quality headphones like the Sennheiser Momentum.

I actually agree with you about this. Just like not everyone wants the 6500k display calibration etc.
Although I do not want to lose details either.
In this case, testing the X10 with the E6 and even better now with the E11 I am beginning to enjoy this headphone a lot.
I dont recall the time I listened to so much music for hours and hours at work.
When I got my previous TDK IE800 for example, it was not even close to making me enjoy music as much.

Now, WITHOUT EQ and the amp,at least from my Xperia Z Ultra, I wouldnt use these headphones at all. My phone just lacks the punch to make it justice, and i dont care if it is supposed to be an easy to drive headphone or not, my phone just does not have the output power for some reason to make it sing.
With the AMP then some EQ, I am able to bring out the mids and highs a bit which I actually enjoy as they are on the warmer side  instead of ear piercing bright. Maybe I could use a bit more clarify some times but no headphone is perfect and when it comes to giving me bass....they bring a smile to my face
I love that it can make a song that may be lacking in bass to sound a lot more exciting to me by EQing and the headphone handles it just beautifully. 
I still will test others including a more "balanced" one but right now, under my setup, I am liking them!

 

[aafanatic]

  . You should look for something that covers all the spectrum and tries to be a little balanced,

This could be easier to hear and I think more helpful if changed to :
 
"I look for something that covers all the spectrum and tries to be a little balanced".
 
I recently got the Sony MDR-X10 for fun, and I have found them to be fun. I gave my Sony MDR-XB950s to my wife because they have an inline mic, which I try to avoid. She loves them.I mention these because they are over ear and I believe more comfortable for long listening. The MDR-X10s are on ear, and I thought that they would hurt my ears after a while, but so far they are exactly what I bought them for; FUN. 
   If I A/B them against any of my Sennheiser cans the X10s do sound mediocre in the mids and highs. If I listen to the X10s on their own for and hour or so, my ears adjust and they become fun cans. I have always wanted really great over ear cans that have amazing sub bass and pristine mids and highs. I haven't found that at any price. I tried IEMs to see if I could find that perfect sound signature there,  The JVC HA-FX1100 came close, but they are in the end too polite. I have a lot of IEMs and so I went through all of them looking for something that sounded like my 4.1 loud speaker system. Strangely I found what I was looking for in a less "important" IEM; the JVC HA-FX11. It is a Japan only IEM, and the plastic version of the still unimportant JVC HA-FX33. It has amazing sub bass, great mids, slightly sibilant highs, portable, durable, replaceable, comfortable, and fun. The spiral dot ear tips of the FX1100s completely reeled in the sibilance. 
     I mention all of this because since the HA-FX11s are not audiophile IEMs I thought they can't be great. But they are. I am not recommending that members of Head-fi buy cheap crap, just that I have been pleasantly surprised by cans that are less important, and perhaps a guilty pleasure. The Sony MDR-X10 is exactly that, a guilty pleasure. I won't be recommending it to other members, but they are easily driven by my nano and kick the bass like car audio at $99, what's not fun about that?

 

[FastAndClean]

i have xb910 and when i cut the upper and mid  bass with eq they are a lot better than using them with flat eq, the mids are clearer and the bass is more rumbly and less boomy, very fun and powerful cans but only with eq reducing mid and upper bass